Nintendo can't do everything. While the company has pledged time and again that it will be ready for the launch of Wii U in a way that it was not for the 3DS in 2011, global president Satoru Iwata admits his teams can only do so much.

"There is always a limit to our internal resources," Iwata told a group of investors last week in Japan. "The company now has to develop software for the Nintendo 3DS, has to prepare for the Wii U launch and has to finalize the hardware functionalities. With these circumstances in mind, if I said that an overwhelmingly rich [Wii U] software lineup would be prepared from day one, it would be too much of a promise to make."

Iwata went on to describe that despite the pressure and demand on his development teams, Nintendo would be able to "make several proposals" about games for the Wii U launch window. In Iwata's view, these games could go on to become blockbuster 'evergreen titles' like New Super Mario Bros. or Wii Fit, which went on to sell tens of millions over several years.

"We have learned the lesson that we have to make that kind of preparation for the Wii U, or the Wii U will not gain enough momentum to expand its sales," Iwata concluded. "We would like to share additional information at the E3 show in June this year."

These messages are similar to ones we've heard in the past, though this is the first time Iwata has directly laid out not only the obstacles Nintendo faces, but the fact that the company will nonetheless be armed with several concepts early on in Wii U's life. Iwata noted this is partly possible because his company has "expanded" development efforts in recent years - that its "ability has increased in comparison to that of five years ago."

Iwata noted that not only would Nintendo be showcasing its Wii U games at E3 2012, but third party publishers would have content as well. The executive mentioned this specifically to compare Wii U's level of external support to the 3DS, which struggled to maintain a steady flow of content shortly after its launch.